Batman and Gilda?
The Story of Two Pieces of Functional 50′s Concept Art Separated at Birth
by Ken McGavin, originally written for http://www.meanwhileinart.com/
It’s a bird, it’s a plane…or wait, is that right? Anyway, it’s Batman and Gilda. 1950’s America was a place of Dreams. The economy was booming, the suburbs were booming and most of all the babies were “booming” which all reflected the bountiful feeling surrounding the time. Anything was possible…the Civil Rights Movement was putting the first nails in the coffin of Jim Crow in the courts, the country was united against the communist threat and industry in general was moving in optimistically creative directions the nation had not seen before. It was a good time for the country, and a good time to be looking to the future.
Tailfin’s were obviously quite prominent markers on both the Streamline X “Gilda” and the Futura (Batmobile) in terms of signature design elements of the 50′s.
Nothing was more at the heart of the creative forward looking dream mantra of 1950’s American culture than the automotive industry. Tailfin’s were all the rage, aerodynamics were combining with style to create the real life Jetson’s get around devices and concept “models of the future” were promotional tools of extreme resonance for the largest car manufacturers across the board.
The Lincoln “Futura” (top) was inspired by tropical sea life as evidenced by “shark-like” features on the front end, according to Lincoln’s head of styling Bill Schmidt. The Ghia Streamline X Gilda (pictured bottom) defined tailfins for the rest of the decade and was the genesis of Chrysler’s “Forward Look” that came to full fruition with the 1957 Chrysler 300′s.
1955 was a seminole year for automotive design and embodied the optimistic creative boom of the decade. Born in literally the same shop at the exact same time, a mere stones throw away from each other, two shining examples of the 1950’s optimistic adventurism in industry were (Chrysler) Ghia’s 1955 Streamline X Coupe and the Ford commissioned Lincoln “Futura”. Designated from the outset as essentially “hype” concept cars to build public excitement for their respective companies, both the “Futura” and “Streamline X” had pretty far out designs. Both were garnished with tailfins, both were very much like space ships on the road and both were very much prized works of art for the respective companies.
The Streamline X would be instantly christened “Gilda” by it’s artistic mastermind Giovanni Savonuchi after the movie character of the same name played by Rita Hayworth and would remain essentially unchanged from the form it took in 1955 through to today. It was completed as a serious artistic design study in real world aerodynamic functionality and creativity, a true work of conceptual brilliance, and the star of the show wherever it was shown that year. The Ford “Futura” also would receive it’s share of acclaim at the time, but unlike it’s contemporary sibling “Gilda” it would not remain as it was originally conceived…far from it. The “Futura” would undergo a substantial visual overhaul and morph into an American icon, the original “Batmobile” of 1960’s TV fame.
The Lincoln “Futura”, in it’s original form (top) morphed in 1966 into the iconic “Batmobile” of the pop culture phenomenon known as “Batman”. Though many iterations of the car would come about over time, only the first one came about as a result of a true makeover of an actual car. In fact, subsequent models, as is normally the case in Hollywood, were made quite cheaply from fiberglass.
Two Dreams born in the same house, at the same time, which ended up taking very different life paths…differences which carry on to this very day. One a curiosity of pop culture, and retired icon of TV and the silver screen, and the other an existence largely spent in museums only recently truly coming back into the public sphere as a model of excellence in art, technical specifications and design acumen.
FUN FACT! What was Batman’s first movie, ever? Well, casual fans will point out Tim Burton’s 1990 “Batman” but more savvy fans will no doubt point out that Adam West starred in a Batman movie in 1966 that was theatrically released. In truth, they’re both wrong. The first time Batman was ever depicted in a movie that had any kind of release was “Batman, Dracula” in 1964, directed and produced by none other than Andy Warhol. Few people have seen it, and all prints are thought to be long gone, but what we do know is that the detective was played by longtime Warhol collaborator, Gregory Battcock, and it was completely unauthorized by DC Comics. Some surviving footage appeared in a later Warhol film “Jack Smith and the destruction of Atlantis”
Where are they now?
In 2013, the Batmobile sold at the Barrett Jackson auto auction for a whopping 4.6 million dollars! Meanwhile, the Streamline X Gilda currently resides in the private collection of Scott Grundfor in California. It will be headed to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia in 2014 for their upcoming automotive history exhibition.
The Streamline X Gilda has been the centerpiece attraction at numerous shows since it was first shown at the Turin Auto Show in 1955. Gilda is pictured here (above left) in it’s own exhibition hall at the Nervi designed Esposi Torino at the 2008 Dream Auto Exhibition. Also pictured above (right) is the Gilda at the Ford museum where it resided for 16 years. If you look closely, behind the Gilda you can see the world famous Mercedes Benz W-196 Race Car which won the world sports car chamionship in 1955!
Pictured above is Gilda at Villa d’ Este where it headlined the parade of concept cars in 2009. For last 5 years Gilda has been a centerpiece of numerous shows and exhibitions and in 2014 will be headed to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia for the Spark Exhibition alongside a handful of dream cars, which will include the Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5 and GM’s Firebird I, among others.
The 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car had been apart of the personal collection of George Barris since he first bought it from the Ford Motor Company for $1. After having a meeting with the producer of the TV Show, William Dozier, George was left with the challenge of 15 days and $15,000 budget. Before George knew it, the Lincoln Futura was underway to becoming what others will always remember to be the Original Batmobile. Besides seeing the likes of the infamous, Adam West and Burt Ward (Batman and Robin), this car has been on a variety of television/movie sets, car shows and museums around the nation. At the 2013 Scottsdale Barrett Jackson auction the Batmobile sold for a whopping 4.6 million dollars!
“The Poem”. September 25 1955, Ghia-Torino Italia “A woman makes
you feel like being intoxicated,” our unknown poet wrote, “but
then she leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth.” In 2008 while the Gilda was being worked on at Scott Grundfor’s restoration garage in California, a poem written on the underneath the floor panel, was found, clearly never meant to have been seen! After some digging, it was found out who might have been the culprit of the prose. According to Tom Tjaarda, who worked at Ghia in 1958, he became good friends with Giuseppi Nocolotti from the design department at Ghia, who on numerous occasions would warn about the perils of relationships with woman, specifically saying on more than one occasion in his good but broken English “First they are at your side and next you have nothing”. In 1955 when the Gilda was made, Giuseppi Nicolotti was everywhere in the Ghia factory according to Tjaarda. He worked on the wooden bucks and also had a hand in the prototype making phase. Could this have been our poet?
TWO EXTRAORDINARY EXAMPLES OF 1950′s ARTISTIC OPTIMISM, BORN “SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT CHANNEL”
